I’m a “Twinkie!”

Okay, in between talking baseball with my fellow Red Sox fans–of which there aren’t many down here in NC–and watching the World Series games–Go Sox! Three down, only one more to go!–I’ve been spending my time immersed in Cherokee legends and myths while I research the second book in my Eternal Shadows series–the first book, Snow Shadows, is now under contract with L&L Dreamspell and is scheduled to come out in print and ebook next year! Woo-hoo!

Sorry, it’s difficult to curb my enthusiasm over that one!

So anyway, amid all the sites on the Internet which deal with the history of the Cherokee, I’ve found one that originates from Indiana. Indiana? Yep, there’s a branch of Cherokee Indians in Indiana called the Lone Wolf Band, and they have an interesting history of their own. Here’s the link if you want to check it out:

I clicked on the site originally because it came up when I searched for “Cherokee Religious Beliefs.” That page on their site was interesting so I clicked over to their main page. And well, wow! There are a number of pages, dealing with everything from history to spiritual beliefs, and I took the time to read them all. As a result, I’m even more enthralled with my ancestors than I was before.

As I was reading my way through the many different pages, the one titled “Are you Cherokee?” kept catching my eye, but I resisted clicking on it. Why? Well, my great aunt always said, “one drop of Cherokee blood is enough to make you Cherokee,” but there are many who don’t feel that way. A lot of tribe members today consider only those who can prove their heritage with documentation true members of the Cherokee tribe. My family can’t do that, we have no legal documentation that my great-great-great grandmother was full-blooded Cherokee. So I avoid pages like that. I know I’m Cherokee and I don’t want–or need–anybody telling me I’m not.

But the rest of the site was so engrossing that I overcame my deep-seated resistance, braced myself and clicked on that dreaded page anyway. And I hate to repeat myself, but well, wow! The page begins with a prophecy from our ancestors that the new century (my first thought was the 20th, but on another page this site says it’s the 21st) “would bring forth many people of Cherokee blood that want to rejoin the heritage that had been hidden from them.” The prophecy is told in detail on the “Return of the Buffalo” page and it’s fascinating reading. A little like the predicitons of Nostradamus, far-seeing and eerily accurate.

The thing is, it goes on to offer an explanation as to why my family doesn’t have the “legal documentation” so many say we need if we want to claim to be a part of the Cherokee tribe. The page says:

“During and after the removal of the people, times became very hard. So the government devised yet another way to assist in the extermination of the Indians. The government offered those Indian people their own plots of land and also gave them up to $5000.00 in cash so that they could live and farm their own lands. They even offered them slaves. But this was not without a catch. To do this the government required these families to denounce their Indian heritage and to never speak of it again. The government wanted these Indians to live as whites and because times were so hard for these people, many accepted.”

That little historical tidbit is something my great aunt never told me and I never found in all my research, and I’ll be honest, it feels incredible to know that Aunt Bessie was right; even with that one drop of Cherokee blood that flows through my veins, I am Cherokee.

That speaks to my soul and warms my heart. Enough so that when I read the part about the so-called Cherokee “experts” who refer to people like me as a “Wannabe,” or even more derogatory, a “Twinkie,” I laughed.

Me, a Twinkie. Who’d’ve thought? I just might have a t-shirt printed up!

So thanks to the Lone Wolf Band of Cherokee Indians in Indiana. You’ve confirmed–in my mind and heart!–my heritage, given me a few ideas to be included in my next book, and lifted my spirits all at the same time!

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4 comments

Thanks for this blog!!! I had been trying desperately to find some “legal” documentation of my Cherokee blood, but as with many folks, have been unsuccessful. But your blog reminded me of an important fact: my family was proud enough of their heritage that they did NOT RENOUNCE the blood ties! Thank you for the fresh insight and comfort that my few drops of Cherokee blood do indeed make me part of the nation!

I too have problems tracing my past Cherokee descendants. Like yourself I found the Lone Wolf Band of Cherokee Indians web site and wise quite impressed. My only problem with the site is the e-mail is incorrect and I can not find any more information to contact them.

I was told by a Cherokee that it is not how much Cherokee blood you have running in your veins but where your heart is.

By the way, do you know that you can take online Cherokee language for free at http://www.cherokee.org. I really enjoy it.